A lot of shonen anime have come out since the release of what is commonly considered the first shonen anime, Astro Boy. However, only some of them have been able to become something recognizable even to the audience of spheres other than anime. Some of these shonen anime franchises have also been able to gather prestige and cult status over the past years. Two of these cult classics include Hunter X Hunter and Naruto authored by Yoshihiro Togashi and Masashi Kishimoto respectively.
Togashi's Hunter X Hunter follows the story of a 12-year-old boy, Gon, who wants to become a great hunter like his father Ging, and find the latter but to do so he would have to face numerous challenges and hardships. Kishimoto's Naruto follows the story of the titular character, a teenage boy who lives in a world of shinobis or ninjas and has the ambition to become a Hokage someday the highest post attainable in his village. Although these two anime franchises share plenty of similarities, they follow different routes in terms of various important factors like power systems, arcs, characters, and overall storytelling.
Which One Has a Better Power System?
Both Naruto and Hunter X Hunter have incredible power systems that enrich the plot of these anime franchises. Since it is based on the concept of shinobis or ninjas, Naruto follows the power system that includes ninja techniques or jutsu(s) with three major types of jutsu - Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Ninjutsu is the vaguest or broad of the three major jutsu, it is supposed to be the adulterated version of the Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's ninshu created by his son, Indra Ōtsutsuki. Genjutsu is an umbrella term for all the jutsu(s) that generate artificial effects that cause their victims to go through sensory illusions.
Taijutsu involves the use of martial arts to enhance and push natural human abilities to newer levels. These jutsu are driven by chakra which is a substance present in life forms on some planets. All the jutsu(s) rely on chakra flow for their execution except for Taijutsu which does not necessarily require chakra although Taijutsu abilities can be enhanced with chakra. Besides the three major jutsu, there is a concept of Jinchūriki that are the persons who hold a tailed beast inside them, giving them destructive powers and an enormous amount of chakra.
Hunter X Hunter follows the power system that is centered around aura (the life energy inside a person) called Nen. Nen is the ability to manipulate one's life energy or aura at will. The world of Hunter X Hunter is full of practitioners of Nen that are popularly known as Nen users. There are mainly six types of Nen - Conjuration (the type of Nen that allows the user to create objects simply from their aura), Manipulation (the type of Nen that allows the user to control animate and inanimate things), Emission (this type allows the Nen user to detach or release aura from their body), Transmutation (the type of Nen that allows the user to change the quality or aura to match something else), Enhancement (this type of Nen allows the user to strengthen themselves or objects), and Specialization (this includes specialized Nen techniques).
Most of the Nen users are born with one of the six types of Nen. After having learned the type of Nen they were born with, Nen users can channel their learning into developing a Nen technique that suits them the most and fits best with their personalities. Nen has four major principles known as Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Nen further gets divided into advanced techniques that include Gyo, In, En, Shu, Ko, Ken, and Ryu. There is a wide gamut of Nen abilities in the world of Hunter X Hunter.
While Kishimoto keeps the power system of Naruto lucid and entertaining with Jutsu and chakra, Togashi takes a more mature route to create a very well-thought power system that is Nen, its types, principles, techniques, and various Nen abilities. Hunter X Hunter takes the win in the race for having a better power system as it just adds layers to and makes the plot of Hunter X Hunter. The concept of Nen is what makes Hunter X Hunter a phenomenal shonen anime since it keeps the audience hooked to the very last moment in every fight in the series and keeps things unpredictable. The complexity of the concept of Nen is what specifically makes it a far better power system than most shonen anime power systems.
Which One Has Got Better The Characters?
Hunter X Hunter has some solid characters in it. The protagonist of the franchise Gon Freecss is a good shonen anime protagonist who almost seems too perfect until the series gets to the Chimera Ant arc where the audience gets to see a different side of Gon that had not been previously explored. There are other amazing characters like Kurapika, Hisoka Morow, Chairman of the Hunter Association - Isaac Netero, the Zoldyck family, Razor, the Zodiacs, Chrollo Lucilfer, Meruem, etc., in Hunter X Hunter. Such characters breathe life into the Hunter X Hunter franchise. On the other hand, the Naruto franchise is responsible for giving the anime universe some of its most loved and respected characters.
When it comes to writing characters that can win the hearts of the audience, Kishimoto wins with a decent margin because of the kind of characters he crafted for the world of Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki is one of the classic shonen anime protagonists that are loved and admired by fans to a great extent. Kishimoto made Naruto mischievous, jolly, dedicated, a great believer, and vulnerable, and these traits would put Naruto Uzumaki on the list of the greatest shonen anime protagonists of all time if such a list was to be made. Characters like Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Tsunade, Obito Uchiha, Orochimaru, the Akatsuki members, Might Guy, etc., are some of the best characters in the anime universe. Not to forget the fact that the Naruto franchise gave the anime universe one of its most respected and admired antagonists of all time, Madara Uchicha. So, Naruto trumps Hunter X Hunter when it comes to characters.
Which One Has the Best Arcs?
Story arcs are one of the factors that sustain an anime series and help it progress the story. Both of the anime franchises in question have remarkable story arcs throughout their runtime. The Naruto franchise has some of the most fascinating and well-played-out story arcs in the shonen genre like the Chunin Exams arc, The Five Kage Summit arc, the Pain Invasion/Two Saviors arc, The Fourth Shinobi World War arc represents Kishimoto's visionary writing and ability to gather all eyes on his work.
Hunter X Hunter packs some of the most influential arcs in shonen anime history as these arcs are shonen anime at its peak. With his in-depth, nuance-rich writing Togashi let the world have a glimpse of his prowess as a manga author. These are also the reasons why Hunter X Hunter's Chimera Ant arc and York New City arc are considered two of the top-tier shonen anime arcs of all time. Everything in these arcs from characters, storyline, and sub-plots to fights, and duration is top-notch and perfectly placed. One of the biggest downsides to any anime arc can be its duration if the arc gets too long it starts to get boring but the Chimer Ant arc and the York New City arc are fine examples of perfect arcs, especially in terms of duration. Even though the arcs in the Naruto franchise are way more popular than the ones in Hunter X Hunter, story arcs in the latter are superior to the former in every way possible.
Which One Has Better Overall Storytelling?
No matter how good or superb the characters, plot, or power system of a shonen anime are if it lacks a good form of storytelling it is going to fail sooner or later. There are plenty of shonen anime series that have promising stories and sets of characters, but they fail to capture the attention of the audience because they lack a good way of storytelling. However, this is not the case with the Naruto and Hunter X Hunter anime franchises as they both have good and unique ways of storytelling. Kishimoto did a great job with the overall storytelling in the Naruto franchise as it keeps the audience hooked to the very last end, although it does have its fair share of weak points where the storytelling fails to provide the flavor of fascinating shonen anime to the audience.
On the other hand, Togashi is a pure genius when it comes to creating a breathtaking storytelling experience which is evident through the Hunter X Hunter franchise. He has paid attention to everything that gets mentioned in his manga and anime, he always goes the extra mile by carefully and beautifully planning and explaining even the tiniest of things in great detail. But he does so in a way that does not make the audience get bored or negatively affect the overall storytelling in any way possible.
Even though the Naruto franchise has the masses and immense worldwide popularity at its disposal, the Hunter X Hunter franchise simply outclasses the former with its unique plot, peculiar characters, solid power system, and exuberant overall storytelling experience.